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A Monthly Publication of the Cascade Bicycle Club
July 2004
Tips for Success
Advice for the group health seattle to portland bicycle classic
by Steve Hastings, Ride Leader
Are you riding the Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic this year? Maybe I’ll see you there! This will be my 8th STP. My wife, Denise, and I have done STP six times in two days, and last year in one very long day. Here is my advice for how to have the best possible ride.
I want to get one thing out of the way first: I hope you have been riding your bike a lot. The rule of thumb is that you should have ridden at least 500 miles so far this year, and 1,000 miles or more would be better. The CBC website offers mileage recommendations.
Prepare ahead of time, as much as possible. Pick up your registration packet before the day of the ride instead of joining the masses collecting their packets at the last minute. Packing one day early will offer some relief and help you get good some sleep the night before.
Pack your luggage so that it can survive some abuse. Avoid packing valuable or delicate items in your luggage. Your bag may be thrown into a big pile of luggage in the luggage truck. Your luggage may even sit out in the rain for a few hours, so consider packing your clothes inside plastic bags.
Make sure your bike is ready. Have a bike mechanic check your bike over to make sure it’s ready for 200 miles. Right before STP, all the bike shops are busy, so book your tune-up early.
If you have a mountain bike, I strongly urge you to replace the knobby mountain bike tires with cross bike tires, such as the Avocet Cross K to enjoy a smoother, easier ride. Also consider adding bar ends to straight handlebars to gain extra hand positions.
No matter what kind of handlebars you have, you should wear good gloves to cushion your hands.
Avoid making last-minute changes to your bike. The night before STP is not the time to try out a new saddle, or change to a new type of pedals. Ideally have your bike adjustments in place least a week in advance, so you can take a few rides ahead of time. Then you have a chance of fixing a problem if one turns up.
STP is one of the most well-supported rides around. You are never more than 20 miles from some kind of rest stop. While you don’t need to carry much food, you might want to bring a few energy bars or some easily digestible sport gels for when hunger unexpectedly strikes. Powdered sport drinks also keep energy levels up.
Bring some money in small bills to buy snacks or to make donations at unofficial rest stops such as roadside lemonade and snack stands.
Carry enough bicycle tools to repair a flat tire. This means tire levers, a patch kit, a spare tube and some kind of tire pump.
You should have a mini first-aid kit. Medical help is available on STP, but it’s nice to be able to fix a minor problem yourself and keep riding. If you haven’t trained very much, consider using chamois cream such as Chamois Butt’r inside your bike shorts. If you can’t get an actual chamois cream for bicycling, you can use Noxzema cream.
Don’t forget sunscreen and some extra clothes. If the weather turns cold and rainy, rain gear makes all the difference, though a garbage bag with holes cut for your arms and head is better than nothing!
Make sure you eat and drink enough. Some years, dozens of people get dehydrated and cannot finish STP.
Once you reach the finish line, you are done riding! That means you don’t need your bike anymore. If you are sending your bike back to Seattle on the bicycle truck, you should hand over your bike as soon as you arrive so you can enjoy the finish line party. Hang onto your bib number as you’ll need it to claim your bike from the corral in Seattle.
Study your pre-ride guide and your route guide. You can also study the official STP web site. I hope you will have a great time riding from Seattle to Portland!
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